ACC97: How to Modify Query Properties in Microsoft Access (304451)

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Query Properties

To view all the query properties, in Design view of any query, right-click in an empty space in the query design window, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.

The following table lists all the query properties and explains what each one is used for.

Property Name	Description
Description	You can use the Description property to provide information about objects contained in the Database window as well as about individual table or query fields.
Output All Fields	You can use the OutputAllFields property to show all fields in the query's underlying data source and in the field list of a form or report. Setting this property is an easy way to show all fields without having to click the Show box in the query design grid for each field in the query.
Top Values	You can use the TopValues property to return a specified number of records or a percentage of records that meet the criteria you specify. For example, you might want to return the top 10 values or the top 25 percent of all values in a field.
Unique Values	You can use the UniqueValues property when you want to omit records that contain duplicate data in the fields displayed in Datasheet view. For example, if a query's output includes more than one field, the combination of values from all fields must be unique for a given record to be included in the results.
Unique Records	You can use the UniqueRecords property to specify whether to return only unique records based on all fields in the underlying data source, not just those fields present in the query itself.
Run Permissions	You can use the RunPermissions property in a multiuser environment with a secure workgroup to override the existing user permissions. This allows you to view a query or run an append, delete, make-table, or update query that you otherwise would not have permission to run. For example, as a user, you may have read-only permission for queries, while the owner of the queries has read/write permission. If the owner sets the RunPermissions property to specify the owner's permissions, you can run an append query to add records to a table.
Source Database	The SourceDatabase property specifies the external database in which the source tables or queries for a query reside.
Source Connect Str	The SourceConnectStr property specifies the name of the application used to create an external database.
Record Locks	You can use the RecordLocks property to determine how records are locked and what happens when two users try to edit the same record at the same time.
Recordset Type	You can use the RecordsetType property to specify what kind of recordset is available.
ODBC Timeout	You can use the ODBCTimeout property to specify the number of seconds Microsoft Access waits before a time-out error occurs when a query is run on an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) database. By setting this property to zero (0), no time out will occur.
Filter	You can use the Filter property to specify a subset of records to be displayed when a filter is applied to a form, a report, a query, or a table.
Order By	You can use the OrderBy property to specify how you want to sort records in a form, a query, a report, or a table.
Max Records	Specifies the maximum number of records that will be returned by an ODBC database to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb).

Field Properties

To see the field properties, in Design view of any query, right-click in the field in the query design grid, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.

The following table lists all the field properties and explains what each one is used for.

Property Name	Description
Description	You can use the Description property to provide information about objects contained in the Database window as well as about individual table or query fields.
Format	You can use the Format property to customize the way numbers, dates, times, and text are displayed and printed. For example, if you have created a Price text box, you can set its Format property to Currency and its DecimalPlaces property to 2 or to Auto. If you enter 4321.678 in the control, the number would be displayed as $4,321.68. You can use one of the predefined formats or you can create a custom format by using formatting symbols.
Input Mask	You can use the InputMask property to make data entry easier and to control the values that users can enter in a text box control. For example, you could create an input mask for a Phone Number field that shows you exactly how to enter a new number: (___) ___-____. It is often easier to use the Input Mask Wizard to set the property for you.
Caption	You can use the Caption property to provide helpful information to the user through captions on objects in various views: Field captions specify the text for labels attached to controls created by dragging a field from the field list and serves as the column heading for the field in table or query Datasheet view. Form captions specify the text that appears in the title bar in Form view. Report captions specify the title of the report in print preview. Button and label captions specify the text that appears in the control.
Display Control	You can use the DisplayControl property in table Design view to specify the default control that you want to use for displaying a field.

Field List Properties

To see the field list properties, in Design view of any query, right-click on a field in the field list, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.

The following table lists all the field list properties and explains what each one is used for.

Property Name	Description
Alias	You can use the Alias property to specify a custom name for a source table or query when you use the same table or query more than once in the same query.
Source	You can use the Source property to specify the source connection string and source database for a query's source table or query.

For additional information about general field properties, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: